Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Rainfall comparison and late week warmup

Does it feel like we've had a lot of rain this year? It feels a little bit like that to me, but I think it's just because we are still coming out of serious drought from the last 3 or 4 years, and now that we are getting normal rains again, it just feels like we are a lot wetter than normal.

Central and eastern Kansas had received more rain to date last year than this year

Western Kansas has experienced a big increase in rainfall this year compared to 2013

The numbers I put together last night were a little bit of a surprise. Central and eastern Kansas haven't had quite as much rain this year as we did last year at this point in the year. But that's not the same story in the west. The number that was most surprising was Garden City where they have more than doubled the rainfall for this year compared to last. Some of the big rains in June put them on the right track to have above normal moisture, and it's paying off now just looking around and seeing all of the green vegetation. If you haven't driven across western Kansas this year, it's amazing how much better things look compared to recent years. The grass is green, the corn looks pretty amazing, and in some cases, you find standing water. It's a very welcome change for farmers and ranchers who have had to sell off cattle because there just wasn't enough water to keep them around.

The weather will slowly get warmer heading into the second half of the week. The humidity will start creeping up Thursday and Friday. We are still forecasting some storms by Friday and Saturday, but right now, it looks like it will be the scattered variety rather than anything widespread. Details to come on the blog tomorrow. Enjoy the nice weather.